Last Time Out
Iowa State made an impressive non-conference statement, beating Mississippi State 96-80 in Sioux Falls last Monday. Tamin Lipsey had a career high 25 points with 6 assists and 3 steals. Joshua Jefferson chipped in 18 points. Blake Buchanan had an great all around showing with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. The 96 points came despite only shooting 23% from 3. The defense was the star of the show, forcing 26 Mississippi State turnovers and constantly giving the Cyclones easy buckets in transition.
Advertisement
About Stonehill
Per the Stonehill College Wikipedia page:
“Stonehill College is a private Catholic college in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that complement the original Georgian-style Ames mansion.
Stonehill’s engineering majors spend their last four semesters of undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame, Stonehill’s sister institution and another Holy Cross school.“
Ed Cooley is an alum. The Skyhawks is a cool mascot. The basketball team is 1-4 with a win over a non-D1 opponent and 4 straight losses, the most recent to Loyola Maryland. Stonehill moved up to D1 in 2022 and is in the middle of the transition period where they are not allowed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They do deserve a little bit of credit for hanging tough against DePaul on November 7th. This team currently sits at 333rd overall on Kenpom and a 357th out of 365 on offense. They turn the ball over on 22% of their offensive possessions, which should play right into Iowa State’s gameplan.
Advertisement
Player to Watch
Sophomore Hermann Koffi is Stonehill’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game. He scored 27 points against DePaul, so he is capable of putting up some points against a power conference opponent. He’s a high volume 3 point shooter at 17-34 on the season, which is genuinely impressive. We’ll also keep an eye on 6’8” senior Raymond Espinal-Guzman, who is averaging 8 rebounds per game and also had 7 assists in that DePaul game, showing a strong all around game.
Pick 3
1 – Iowa State forces 25+ turnovers
2 – Jamarion Batemon scores 15+ points
3 – The walk-ons play a ton of minutes
Prediction
I mean, what more is there to say. Iowa State is going to dominate this game from start-to-finish. The only thing in doubt will be if the Cyclones can cover a big spread. The defense will come out aggressive and force a ton of turnovers. Offensively, this will be an opportunity to get the freshman a ton of reps, and hopefully build some confidence with guys like Batemon, Toure, and Pleta getting to feast on an overmatched opponent.
Advertisement
Iowa State: 95
Stonehill: 56
The Matchup: Stonehill (1-4, 0-0 NEC) at #16 Iowa State (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267)
When: Monday, November 17th, 7:00pm
Spread: Iowa State -37.5 | O/U 146.5
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Varsity Radio App Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)
TV: ESPN+ | Talent: Noah Wolf (PxP), Paul Doerrfeld (Analyst)
Live Stats: Cyclonestats.com
